Nested serving table



5 i946- A. R. FERGUSSON 2,409,027

NESTED SERVING TABLE Filed March 8, 1944 INVENTOR 414m A. .f'fiawtrom BY l E ATTORN EY Patented Oct. 8, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NESTED SERVING TABLE Alan It. Fergusson, Larchmont, N. Y. Application March 8, 1944, Serial No. 525,805

5 Claims.

This invention relates to utility devices in general and particularly to what may be called a nested serving table combination.

The prime object of this invention is to provide a utility device of the type indicated, which consists of a plurality of individually useable units in the form of serving tables, and wherein each of these serving table units comprises a base, a support or standard for a tray and a tray, and wherein the bases of all units and the trays of all units may be nested and so joined as to present a Single serving table combination capable of being used or moved about the same as each of the individual units.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device of the class indicated, which is made of inexpensive, readily obtainable material, and which, although simple in construction, will render effective service for the purpose for which it is designed.

Another object of this invention is to design the bases and the trays of the units so that these bases and trays of a plurality of units may be superimposed upon each other and secured to the standards or tray supports of all of the units.

A further object of this invention is to provide in those bases of the units which are intended to be superimposed upon the lowermost base with the required number of apertures for the passage therethrough of the standards extending from bases below the topmost base, and to provide mean for connectin the free ends of all standards, when the bases are in their nested position, and to further provide individual tray attaching means adapted to either serve for securing individual trays to individual standards, or to form supports for the trays in their nested position when the bases of the units are nested and their standards are connected, and to provide means for securing such nested trays to the connected standards, said means being adapted to pass through all the nested trays and to engage said standard-connecting means.

A still further object of this invention is to provide with each base of the units having standardreceiving apertures movable covers intended to overlay such apertures, when the units are employed individually.

The foregoing and still further objects of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the ensuing description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 illustrates one of the possible forms of my combination serving table;

Fig. 2 is a top view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a partial side elevation'of the device, showing the arrangement and the support of the trays in their nested position;

Fig. 4 illustrates the bases and standards of the device prior to assuming their nested position;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional detail view illustrating the support and attachment of the nested trays;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view showing the attachment of a single tray to a standard; and

Fig, '7 is a plan View, partly in section along line 7-1 of Fig. 5, secured to the standards by the individual tray-attaching means.

Referring now specifically to the drawing, numerals it, ll and I2 denote the bases of three individual tray units, adapted to be superimposed upon one another, and from which bases extend, respectively, standards l3, l4 and [5. In Figs. 1, 3 and 5 are illustrated trays IB, I1 and I8, supported by all of the standards, which latter are connected by a disc-shaped standard-connecting member 19, through the medium of individual tray-attaching means 20. Passing through the center of standard-connecting member 19 is a screw 2!, which is long enough to pass through all of the trays in their nested position and engages with its threaded end a central threaded aperture in member l9.

It will be observed that all individual trayattaching screws 20 are provided with enlargements or heads with smooth top surfaces which are adapted to serve as supports for all of the nested trays. When the unit s are used individually the trays are attached by means of a single screw 28 passing through the central tray aperture and engaging an internally threaded ferrule secured at the free end of the standards, in the manner shown in Fig. 6.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 4, it will be observed that the lowermost base has no aperture, that base ll intended to be superimposed upon base I0 is provided with an aperture to accommodate standard l3 of base 10, and that base I2 is provided with two apertures to accommodate standard l3 of base l0 and standard I4 of base H.

Operatively secured to standards I4 and I5 are covers 22 adapted to overlay the apertures provided for the passage of standards l3 and [4. It will be observed that tray l6, which is the lowermost tray shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5, is somewhat smaller than trays l1 and I8, and that tray I1 is inverted and overlays tray Hi.

It will also be noted that I have illustrated only three units comprising the combination serving device. It is obvious however that more or less units may be employed with similarly efiective results.

The device is intended to be fabricatedfrom inexpensive material such as wood, although papier-mach, plastic, metal or any other suitable material may be employed. Attaching screws 20 and 2| are preferably knurled at their peripheries so that they may be handled readily by unskilled persons without the use of tools. I

In order toseparate the units and render them individually useful, the only thing which is necessary is to remove screw 2|, lifting the trays off the heads of screws 20, removing screws 20, thereby freeing disc or standard-connecting member [9 and removing the latter. Following the removal of the disc the individual units are now separated from one another by lifting first the uppermost unit, thereupon the next and so on until the lowermost unit is left. Now the individual trays are secured to the individual standards by screws 20. In order to facilitate the interconnection of the standards by disc I9 so that the nested trays will assume a fairly horizontal position, it is necessary to vary the length of the standards. Thus standard I3 will be the longest, standard M the next shorter one, and the shortest will b'estandard [5. Thus when the device is disassembled into individual units, the lowermost unit will be the tallest and the uppermost unit the shortest.

While I have illustrated specific forms of my device, be it understood that variations and improvements may be incorporated therein, without departing from the underlying principle of my invention, as expressed in the annexed claims.

1. In a serving table combination, a plurality of interengaged units, each unit consisting of a base, astandard and a tray, the trays and bases of all units being nested with one another, while their standards are in parallel relation to each other, in that the bases of the upper units are adapted to facilitate the passage therethrough of the standards of the lower units, means for attaching the trays individually to their intended standards, when the units are separated, said means serving as supportsfor the nested trays, and other means for connecting all standards with each other and for securing the trays of all units in their nested position to the connected standards.

2. In a serving table combination as per claim 1, the lowermost unit having the longest standard, the bases of the superimposed units having apertures for the reception of the standards of and are adapted to serve as tray supports, when the units are interengaged and their trays are held in nested position and when they are secured "in that position to the connected standards.

4. In a serving table combination as per claim 1, said other means for connecting the standards and for securing to them the nested trays comprising a plate having apertures for the passage therethrough of said individual tray attaching means, and a central threaded aperture, and a threaded member adapted toengage the threads of the central aperture and to pass through all of the nested trays.

5. In a serving table combination, a plurality of individual, interengaged units having nested bases and trays, the latter having central apertures, standards of different length extending from the bases and having means at their upper ends for receiving an individual tray-attaching element, when the unitsare used separately, the base of the lowermost unit having the longest standard, the bases of the other units having apertures for accommodating the standards of the units below them, means associated with all apertured bases for covering their apertures when not in use, individual tray-attaching elements for each unit adapted to pass through the central aperture of a tray and to engage the upper end of a standard, when the units are used individually, a connecting element for all standards of the interengaged units, means for securing the nested trays by way of their central apertures to said connecting element for the standards, said element having a central aperture and other apertures corresponding in number and location to that of the standards, said other apertures serving for accommodating said individual tray attaching elements, which latter support the nested trays, said central aperture being engaged by said securing means for the nested trays.

ALAN R. FERGUSSON. 

